History of the Great Smoky Mountains

History of the Great Smoky Mountains

The Great Smoky Mountains have some deep rich history dating back to the 1700's.  The first European settlers found themselves amongst the Cherokee Indians.  After adopting much of the European culture, the majority of the Cherokee were forcibly moved to land in Oklahoma, an event referred to as the "Trail of Tears".  The Cherokee that remained or made their way back are the ancestors of some that live on the reservation near The Great Smoky Mountains National Park today.

By the 1900's life was much easier than it had been when the area was first settled.  People had lived off the land; farming, hunting for food, cutting the trees down for building, and raising livestock.  Many areas that had at one time been forest were turned into pastures and clearings for towns.

By the 20th century things had changed again in the Great Smoky Mountains. Agricultural lifestyles gave way to lumbering.  Within a span of about twenty years most people did not depend on agriculture as their main stay - people were dependent upon manufacturing, lumber and store bought items.  Lumber and logging boom towns sprang up all over the place, some of them still in existence today: Elkmont, Proctor, Smokemont and Tremont.

Much of the beautiful forest landscape was being cleared and unless something changed in a hurry, trees would become almost extinct in what we now call The Great Smoky Mountains National Park. Intervention came in the way of a declaration - The Great Smoky Mountain Park was established in 1934.  The 20% of forest that remained within the boundaries of the park was preserved.  The people that lived in the park (about 1,200) moved out and left behind buildings, mills, schools and churches.  Over 70 of these structures still remain and are maintained by the park, making it the largest collection of historic log buildings in the Eastern United States.

Below is a brief timeline of events and milestones in the Great Smoky Mountains...

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